28 Dec BierBeisl Imbiss

Chef Bernhard Mairinger has been recognized as Zagat Guides’ 30Under30 and his restaurant BierBeisl was named one of the hottest new restaurants by Gayot, Zagat, Los Angeles magazine and Angeleno Magazine. The LA Times included BierBeisl on their 101 Best Restaurants list and LA Weekly selected BierBeisl for its 99 Essential Restaurants list. With all these accolades, I was disappointed when the BierBeisl Beverly Hills location closed in November 2014. But, worry not! Chef Mairinger has opened BierBeisl Imbiss in the historic Spring Arcade building in downtown Los Angeles. BierBeisl (“beer cafe”) Imbiss (“snack”) is a casual modern restaurant and bakery serving the delicious Austrian dishes Mairinger became famous for. Everything is made fresh at Bierbeisl, from the breads and pastries to the sausages. The breads and pastries are on display when you walk into Bierbeisl Imbiss and it will be hard to pass them up. Don’t! Choose from poppy-seed flessrl, whole grain, house bierbeisl (made with rye, pork lard, mustard and beer), saltstick, multigrain, rye and wheat bread and croissant. And to spread on the breads, try liptauer (ricotta, cream cheese, bell pepper, cornichon, paprika, garlic, caraway seed), house potato spread (potato, sour cream, chive and shallot) or pork lard spread with pumpkin-seed pesto. That pork lard spread will put butter to shame! Be careful not to fill up on breads! With nine sausage options on the menu, choose the Sausage Sampler from which you can choose three different sausages. We chose the Kasekrainer, a pork and beef Polish sausage infused with Swiss cheese, the Nurnberger Bratwurst, a classic German bratwurst made with pork and veal, and the Bosna, a pork and veal sausage infused with turmeric and curry. For non-pork eaters, turkey and veal sausages are  available. And with the sausages, choose from a wide selection of delicious sauces. We went with brown mustard, spicy mustard and BierBeisl chutney. The pork schnitzel is another recommended dish as the pounded meat is juicy with a light crispy breaded coat. The tart and sweet lingonberries is a tasty side to dip the schnitzel in. The schnitzel is also available as turkey or vegetarian options. Do not miss the delicious curry fries. The sausage and schnitzel plates both come with a side dish and we opted for the sauerkraut and the cucumber salad.The salad of organic greens with fine herbs and organic apple balsamic vinaigrette is a refreshing side dish after all the meat and bread. On Sunday nights, try the Sunday Supper. Chef Bernhard Mairinger offers a three course menu featuring dishes from his former Beverly Hills location, as well as new ones. One Sunday night, we enjoyed Butternut Squash Soup with pumpkin seed pesto and whole grain bread croutons, Austrian Style Fried Chicken Backhendl, with creamy potato-mayo salad and shaved raddish and Vanilla-Semolina pudding with mixed citrus ragout and mint. BierBeisl Imbiss has a succinct list of Austrian wines and beers. A glass of wine is $10 but you can buy 10 glasses for $90 and receive tokens to come back anytime. Be prepared to leave satisfied and full when you leave Bierbeisl Imbiss. And, if you can’t make it downtown to the current location, BierBeisl is slated to be opening a larger location on LA’s Westside in the near future. Bierbeisl Imbiss Spring Arcade Building 541 South Spring Street, Los Angeles